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City says Victoria Manor has more residents with a higher degree of cognitive impairments.

A CBC Marketplace investigation has named Victoria Manor in Lindsay as the sixth worst in the Province for abuse between residents in looking at statistics from 2016 – but the City of Kawartha Lakes says that’s not the whole story.

Victoria Manor is a 166-bed, municipal long term care home, owned by the City of Kawartha Lakes.

In a written response to CBC Marketplace on Jan. 19, Rod Sutherland, director of human services at City of Kawartha Lakes, notes that the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) summarizes the expectation of the Ministry Health and Long Term Care this way:

“The definitions of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse under the Long Term Care Homes Act are much broader than in any other health care setting and staff are sometimes uncertain about what constitutes abuse and how to report it. For example, verbal abuse includes calling a resident ‘dearie’ because it is considered belittling language. Or if a resident slaps another resident’s hand for reaching in front of them during a meal, that would also be considered abuse.”

Sutherland says that Victoria Manor’s approach to critical incident reporting is to report incidents if there is any “suspicion” of abuse.

“Reporting alone does not rely on substantiation of the concern.”

Further, Sutherland says that with the Ministry requirement to report incidents within 24 hours, there is often an incident reported prior to the completion of the investigation.

“An investigation completed after the submission of an incident, with no finding of abuse, does not remove or negate the reporting and tracking of the incident.”

The City points out that the overall 2017 resident satisfaction survey results were 92 per cent compared to 89 per cent in 2016. In the same period, the overall family satisfaction results increased to 85 per cent from 83 per cent.

The year-long CBC Marketplace investigation found that violence is “on the rise” in Ontario’s nursing homes.

“Between 2011 and 2016, reported abuse between residents or by caregivers has more than doubled in long-term care facilities,” according to CBC Marketplace.

Sutherland notes that the design of Victoria Manor also includes a specific home area that is secure and separate from the rest of the home.

“With this secure home area, Victoria Manor also receives residents with a higher degree of cognitive impairments than homes without a similar design.”

Victoria Manor has supports to enhance services for residents who have significant and complex mental health, dementia and other neurological conditions, notes Sutherland, with “over 72 per cent of whom experience some degree of dementia.”

Victoria Manor also receives more residents with complex behaviours due to the fact it has more resources available.

In the letter to Marketplace, Sutherland notes the facility always strives for official continuous improvement.

“Ensuring the safety and well-being of the residents and providing the best possible quality of life are paramount.”

CBC Marketplace also looked at staff-to-resident abuse but Victoria Manor was not on this list.

Roderick Benns is the publisher of The Lindsay Advocate. He is the author of 'Basic Income: How a Canadian Movement Could Change the World,' and is also Vice Chair of the Ontario Basic Income Network. An award-winning author and journalist who grew up in Lindsay, Roderick has interviewed former Prime Ministers of Canada, Senators, and Mayors across Canada. He also wrote and published a series of books for youth about Canada's Prime Ministers as teens.

14 Comments

It is so sad to hear about these problems as I am sure the majority of these cases the resident has no knowledge of what they are doing. Dementia can do terrible things to people.
It is reassuring that they have good staff . As a retired nursing home worker I enjoyed my work and it was always a good day if you could put a smile on someone’s face.
I wish them all the best for better days ahead. More smiles less violence.

I think a more telling statistic would be how many residents are prescribed drugs for suppressing behavioural problems. That is different than drugs to treat depression or anxiety which can also improve behaviours.

As for my say my grandmother was in the Victoria manor back when my son was only 6 weeks old I have to be honest they were so awsome with my grandmother and my daughter works there and she is not one that would do anything to hurt anyone or anything it takes a special person with. A patient heart which she surely has thank you yours truly concerned ❤❤❤❤

My Mom has been in Victoria Manor for over a year and a half and I found this report totally bogus.
Our experience is if there is an incident involving Mom we are called immediately. I find this facility is ran with the upmost care and quality of life for the residents and their care givers

Ed O’Neill, our Mom was there for a year before she passed and I was there daily at various times of the day. In fact I continue to volunteer there. I agree with your comments about the excellent care and quality of life for the residents at Victoria Manor in Lindsay.

I really don’t feel that the report is an accurate reflection of the care given at the Manor. The MOH have very tight guidelines for reporting abuse. Also why should they be penalized for reporting incidents? I am sure that there are many other homes that don’t report abuse, so therefore their statistics would be lower.
Long term care facilities have been under enough pressure, we have to spend more time documenting and less time with our residents. Maybe this will draw attention to the need for more funding for for staffing in long term care.

I believe that this finding lacks all the facts! Over the last twenty years, I have visited friends, neighbours and relatives at Victoria Manor. The nursing staff is great and care for their residents. I have never seen abuse or neglect in cleanliness of the residents and their rooms.

This is disgusting that most nursing homes don’t have enough staff. Some have staff that DO NOT CARE. For example: three years ago I received a call from a doctor in the Foothils Hosp. Calgary. She suggested I remove my Mom from the long term care provider nearby the Foothills as the doctor feared for her longevity. My Mom was being drugged, was falling, etc. The replacement staff at Xmas time was appalling. When I arrived a few days after Christmas, residents were yelling for help. That went on for over 20 minutes until I found most of the staff in the lounge in the basement. I told them people needed help and to get off their lazy butts. After that, the staff started to slowly appear. People were being forced to wear diapers, even though they weren’t incontinent. My Mom was forced to wear the dirty diaper soiled with her own feces for over 4 hours. What’s worse is no one cares! When I complained I was fed a bunch of bs about how bad it would be for a senior to go in their pants. Please be careful…..Watch where you place your loved ones and invest in a camera. Sincerely, Barb Black

Another interesting omission in this report is resident to staff abuse. I have spoken first hand with somebody who works at Victoria Manor who told me about incidents of staff trying to intervene in situations or help residents and getting assaulted in the process. One resident who was a former boxer and now suffers from dementia punched out a staff member and this individual is still unable to work to this day (I don’t know how long ago this incident occurred though).

I believe the nursing homes all need more staff to efficiently correct the problems. More staff would be able to keep a closer eye on the residents who may show aggression, see to those who have soiled themselves, etc. My father was a resident, my father-in-law and now my mother-in-law at Victoria Manor. My chief complaint would be that the staff does not return my phone calls. Why? Not enough staff.

My father was a resident at Victoria Manor, a number of years ago, and my family has only the highest praise for the care he received and the excellent staff that provided that care. We visited him daily, and while I know that is not possible for every family I do wish that more people were able to support their aged loved ones by more frequent visits. The staff needs the support of family.

Our experience was very positive and I sincerely regret that “The Manor” is being portrayed in such a negative light.

All I can say to this report is that my late mother-in-law spent her last days in Victoria Manor, and we had nothing but praise for the staff and the facility. Staff were always friendly and attentive. As family members, we observed that she actually thrived at the Manor. I noted that it was always clean, with no ‘funny’ smells in the hallways. Her health issues did not include dementia, so we could also take her word for it that she was comfortable in her surroundings. That is what mattered to her, so that’s what mattered to us. Just to add, her personal safety was never a concern to us. I would have no problems recommending the facility.

I would add to the above comments that the care and concern for the residents is the number one priority at Victoria Manor. I take any reporting on marketplace with a grain of salt. They go looking for problems, scue reporting to be sensationalist to garner ratings. I would suggest that because there is a high percentage of reporting of incidents, only points to their attention to these matters, not ignoring them.

I am a little unclear,Shirley about your pejorative media statements . This might sound corny, but as Mr. Rudyard taught me, most TV and radio News people still live and somehow survive on What, and Why and When and How and Where and Who as the foundation for their stories. Electronic news people don’t have the time to dwell on a story which peters out. Remember, the radio and TV and News Video news people live by the second hand, not the minute hand. Thus, for an Editor, known across Canadian newsrooms, to intentionally complete and air a “stiff” which might have to be apologized for; which has omitted the W-5,’s just doesn’t happen. A local example might be if our huge Lindsay radio station Newsroom aired a deep interview with Ontario Conservative Party reps assigned to demonstrate how Doug Ford knows about farming in COKL. Be kind, we all have busy jobs and reader/customer hassles aired or printed across the County are not appreciated by one’s Boss. This is how even a Senior news person, can be punished by, for example, having to cover the weekly rubber chicken, and baby carrots banquets.(LOL) It’s all good, be happy!Ron Crowley

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The Lindsay Advocate is an online news magazine for Lindsay, Ontario, Canada, focused on the social and economic wellness of the town. While we cover most aspects of community life, we have a particular interest in poverty reduction.